Sensory Update: OT Break

Totally zoned out on self stimulation
with a vibrating toy.

We're almost through with Daniel's assimilation break from OT. We've had five weeks away (this morning is our first appointment back) and Daniel is definitely showing some changes. Primarily, his vocabulary (both spoken words and signs) has increased dramatically in the past month. He now seems very interested in the words others say, and often tries to copy words as he hears them. This is quite different than before our most recent OT intensive, and it's been really fun to witness this type of rapid developmental advance.

Daniel's elimination/toileting habits have also changed a lot over this break. While we were still going to OT, Daniel was consistently telling us that he needed a diaper change by signing diaper or saying peepee. (This may have been due to hyperawareness of his bodily functions or sensitivity to the sensation of it.) During the first three weeks of the break, he completely stopped telling us when he needed to have a new diaper. Even worse, he would get very upset when one of us would suggest that we'd like to change his diaper (to the point of having a meltdown over every diaper change, and running away screaming at the first mention of a diaper). I suspect that this phase was due to him developing a new sense of bodily autonomy and control over that part of his life. In the past couple of weeks, he's been again allowing us to change his diaper more frequently, and—get this—he's been peeing on the potty. He doesn't do it all the time, but we offer the potty at regular times throughout the day, and he's getting pretty good at sitting down on it and letting the pee flow. He'll even walk around the bathroom diaperless for a while, then sit down, say peepee while pointing down, and then go pee in the potty. This is a huge shift from when we first started potty learning, when he was so uncomfortable being on the potty that he would actually hold his pee while sitting there.

Most importantly (though we still have a long way to go in this area) Daniel seems to be doing better overall with self regulation and letting us know what exactly he needs to help him feel better. We've got a solid daily routine which Daniel understands and (usually) follows. (Jaymz and Uncle Matthew are also getting very accustomed to the routine, and we all help keep things on track throughout the day.) While I still wish we could vary from our routine more easily and with fewer poor outcomes, I'm really grateful that this kind of structure has limited the number of meltdowns we have in any given day.

One of his new things that helps him to feel calmer is wearing socks on his hands. He also loves to wear mittens and put small bottles or other things like that on his hands. I think the sensory input from his hands just gets to be too much for him sometimes, and having it dulled down is really regulating for him. I'm happy to do whatever works!

Daniel has also been playing pretend with things (he pretends to eat a piece of felt food, instead of actually putting it in his mouth, for example) for over a month now. This playing pretend is (I'm told) a quite advanced concept for him to grasp at this age. He has also learned the concept of "mine" and just this morning he learned to say "D" to refer to himself!

All these new developments are very fun and most of all, I'm glad that Daniel is learning how to help himself feel more calm and regulated. I'm excited to get back to OT with Lisa today. I've really missed her and I'm looking forward to playing together in the gym again!

Foodie Friday: Butternut Squash Risotto

It's the time of year when I gravitate toward my slow cooker for meal preparation. There's just nothing quite like having something cooking all day, making the house smell delicious and inviting!

This slow cooker risotto is an excellent way to feature the wonderful flavors of butternut quash in a savory preparation. It is by no means an authentic risotto recipe, but it is simple, delicious, and extremely satisfying to eat with family on a cold day. What's more, it cooks in your slow cooker in a mere three hours, so it's a perfect dish to whip up when you have a late-afternoon activity or appointment that will interfere with your usual dinner prep time.

This risotto is a lovely meal to serve on a chilly Winter evening at home. I hope you'll give it a try!

You will need:

1 medium onion, chopped
1 teaspoon garlic powder
½ teaspoon dried basil
6 cups vegetable stock
2 Tablespoons butter (or your favorite fat for sauteeing)
2½ cups rice (I used sprouted brown rice, but usually risotto is made with Arborio)
3 cups butternut squash, peeled, seeded, and cubed (about 1 medium sized squash)
½ cup shredded Parmesan cheese
Salt and pepper, to taste

Here's how:

• In a large skillet, saute onions in butter until tender:
  
• Add rice and mix through for a couple of minutes
  
  
• Add basil and garlic, and stir.
• Combine stock, rice mixture, and squash in your slow cooker (mine is 7 quarts, but I think a 3-4 quart would be plenty large enough).
• Cook on High for 3 hours, or until the rice is cooked to your preferred tenderness.
• Add Parmesan cheese and gently mix it all together. 
• Serve hot (with a sprinkle of cheese on top):
  
  

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Linked up at Food on Fridays at Ann Kroeker, Friday Favorites at Simply Sweet Home, Fight Back Friday at Food Renegade, Slightly Indulgent Tuesday at Simply Sugar and Gluten-Free, and Food and Health Carnival at Lisa's Gluten-Free Advice and Healthy Living.

Photo Challenge: Week 4

Days 18-24:

Gluten-free carrot cake muffins with cream cheese frosting.
Happy birthday to my brother, Zha!

Boxes: the greatest fun for the smallest investment!

Having fun on the potty

It snowed!

Cuddles with Daniel and Eddie

(It also rained.)

Daniel's latest self-calming activity:
socks on hands

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Linked up at Wordless Wednesday at Hobo Mama and Natural Parents Network, and with the other lovely Mamatography project participants at Diary of a First Child!

DIY Popsicle Stick Puzzles

A friend of mine hosted a toddler busy bag swap a little over a month ago, just in time for the holidays. I hadn't ever participated in anything like it, but it was a huge success!

Each parent (we happened to all be moms) made enough of one activity to be able to give one to each other mom and also keep one for her own family. Some of the activities included mini reversible felt boards, homemade playdough, geo boards, "I Spy" bottles, colored pasta beads for stringing together, a magnetic fishing game, and so many more!

The activity I chose to make for the busy bag swap was popsicle stick puzzles. They were fun and simple to make, and I love how compact they are! Right now, Daniel just likes to play with the sticks, but soon he'll be able to figure out how to arrange the puzzle pieces to make a recognizable image. No matter how he plays with it, I'm glad it's interesting enough to encourage solo play every once in a while so I can accomplish a task or two on my own.

Puzzle Supplies:
Jumbo popsicle craft sticks
Masking tape
Washable (Elmer's) glue
5x7" photographs
Small sharp craft (Exacto) knife
Safe cutting surface (like a self-healing mat or a thick piece of corrugated cardboard)
Bags for storage

Here's How:

1. Lay out ten popsicle sticks side by side, matching up the flattest edges you can, then tape them together with a couple strips of masking tape. (I found that while these sticks look fairly straight, the edges are quite irregular. I rejected the lumpiest ones, or put then on the outer edges.)
   
2. Flip the whole thing over and evenly distribute a layer of washable glue across the surface of the popsicle sticks. (Spread your glue out better than I did--I ended up having to re-glue a few in the end.)
   
3. Center a 5x7 photograph on the glue and press down to adhere. Let it dry in a flat place (away from your kid's hands!). You may want to place the puzzle between two books to ensure that it stays flat while it dries.
   
4. When the glue has dried completely, remove the tape and place the puzzle on your safe cutting surface.
5. With the craft knife, cut the photo into strips along the seams between the popsicle sticks. (I admit, I asked Jaymz to help me with this step because I'm not great with knives.) A ruler or other stiff straight edge will help you to make precise cuts.
   
6. Gather the puzzle pieces together and store them in a baggie. (I used sandwich size plastic baggies, but a small cloth bag would work just as well.)

   

   Each one of these is its own little activity!
   So much fun in such a small package. =)

I had a lot of fun (though it was difficult) choosing from my photograph collection to use for this project. I made a set on Flickr which includes the photos I used (plus a few extra). You're welcome to use my photos for your own busy bag popsicle stick puzzles. Keep in mind the difficulty of the puzzle in relation to the intended recipient's age when selecting photographs: younger kids could get frustrated with a puzzle that's too hard to figure out.

The part I enjoyed most about the busy bag swap was getting to see how creative the other parents were with their activities. Leaving with a huge bag full of new tools to try out when our kids are climbing the walls was pretty great, too. One of the moms decided to give these activities to her kids as their Christmas presents. I opted to introduce them one by one over time, and I still have a few new activities from this swap to give to Daniel. I've been grateful lately (since it's been too rainy to go outside) to have a few of these stashed away so I know there's something interesting to do when we both get stir-crazy.

Fortunately, there are tons of ideas out there for different kinds of busy bag activities, and I look forward to making more of them in the future!

Have you made busy bag activities for your little ones? Do you have a favorite rainy day activity (or last ditch effort to maintain the peace) that your kids like? I'd love to hear your ideas and suggestions!

Show me the tea!

I love this challenge from Amber Strocel to display our tea collections for all the world to see. What a fun thing to do during the coldest part of the year! While I can't come close to competing with the scope of the stash of Kelly from KellyNaturally, I think I've got a pretty good shot at second largest tea stash. My food hoarding tendencies are already well documented, but I didn't even attempt to tackle the tea issue during my recent month-long minimalist food challenge.

I have a cherished tea time ritual, which (admittedly) often involves coffee in lieu of tea. There's just nothing like a warm beverage to start the day off on the right foot. Even when the weather is hot in the Summer, I make sure we have a continual supply of iced herbal tea and sun tea at our disposal.

Part of the reason we have such a large tea stash is that when I used to work night shift at the hospital, I would drink tea all night long. Since leaving that job, I've had to limit the amount of caffeine that I consume (due to insomnia and migraines, among other things), so we're left with a large amount of tea that I can no longer drink. I think Jaymz and Zha will have to step up their tea consumption if we're going to get a handle on this situation anytime soon.

In any case, here's a brief tour of the quantity and variety of tea available in this home:

The tea shelf (there's more sitting on the kitchen counter)

Here it all is displayed on our dining table:

That's 41 containers of tea (including the baggie of
assorted individual tea bags)!

We've got loose leaf and bagged, caffeinated and herbal, Thai bubble tea and (one of my personal favorites) yerba mate. There are many therapeutic teas, including those for pregnancy, nursing, tension/sleep, digestion, and skin health. So many to choose from!

So next time you come over, let's have a cup (or two) together. I am delighted to share the abundance of my tea stash with you!


Do you have an impressive tea collection? I'd love to hear about it! If you write about your tea collection before this Friday and link up a post at the showdown on Strocel.com, you'll be entered to win—yep, you guessed it—a new box of tea!